Ireland - Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention [2011] UNCERDCO 5; CERD/C/IRL/CO/3-4 (4 April 2011)

United Nations

CERD/C/IRL/CO/3-4

International Convention on

the Elimination of All Forms

of Racial Discrimination

Distr.: General

4 April 2011

Original: English

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Seventy-eighth session

14 February – 11 March 2011

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of
the Convention

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination

Ireland

1. The Committee considered the third and fourth periodic reports of Ireland,
submitted in one document (CERD/C/IRL/3-4), at its 2063rd
and 2064th meetings
(CERD/C/SR.2063 and 2064), held on 22 and 23 February 2011. At its 2089th
meeting (CERD/C/SR 2089), held on 9
March 2011, it adopted the following
concluding observations.

A. Introduction

2. The Committee welcomes the report submitted by the State party that was
supplemented by frank and sincere oral responses provided
by its delegation. The
Committee commends the State party for its punctuality and consistency in the
submission of periodic reports
since it became a party to the Convention, and
the quality of the reports. The Committee expresses its appreciation for the
large
delegation that presented the State party’s report notwithstanding
the current political situation and economic crisis that
have confronted the
State party. The Committee values the opportunity thus afforded to continue its
constructive dialogue with the
State party.

3. The Committee notes with appreciation the input to its proceedings by the
National Human Rights Institution in Ireland, namely,
the Irish Human Rights
Commission (IHRC) and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

B. Positive aspects

4. The Committee notes with appreciation the establishment of the new Office
of the Minister for Integration which has special responsibility
for integration
policy at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaéltacht Affairs, the
Department of Education and Skills,
and the Department of Justice, Equality and
Law Reform.

5. The Committee also welcomes the establishment of a Ministerial Council on
Migrant Integration with the mandate to advise the Minister
for Integration,
Equality and Human Rights on issues faced by migrants in the State party. The
Committee also commends the State
party for the establishment of the Irish
Naturalisation and Immigration Service in 2005, which provides a ‘one stop
shop’
in matters of asylum, immigration, citizenship and visas.

6. The Committee also commends the State party for ratifying the United
Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, 2000
and the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children, 2000.

7. The Committee welcomes the development of the National Strategy on
Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence for a five-year period
from 2010 to
2014.

8. The Committee also welcomes the establishment of the independent police
complaints authority, the Garda Síochána (Police) Ombudsman
Commission under the Garda Síochána (Police) Act of 2005, which
replaced the Garda Síochána (Police) Complaints Board.

9. The Committee also notes with appreciation the establishment of the Office
of the Press Ombudsman and the Press Council of Ireland
which provide a new
system of independent regulation for the print media.

10. The Committee notes the actions taken by the State party on the on
follow-up to the Durban Review Conference including the National
Action Plan
against Racism and related initiatives.

C. Concerns and recommendations

11. The Committee notes with regret that the economic recession that has
confronted the State party threatens to reverse the achievements
that have been
made in the State party’s efforts to combat racial discrimination at all
levels. The Committee expresses grave
concern about the disproportionate budgets
cuts to various human rights institutions mandated to promote and monitor human
rights
such as the Irish Human Rights Commission, the Equality Authority and the
National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism
(art. 2)

The Committee, recalling its general recommendation No. 33 (2009) on the
Follow-Up to the Durban Review Conference, reiterates that
responses to
financial and economic crises should not lead to a situation which would
potentially give rise to racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related
intolerance against foreigners, immigrants and persons belonging to minorities.
The Committee, therefore,
recommends that the State party ensure that,
notwithstanding the current economic recession, enhanced efforts are made to
protect
individuals from racial discrimination. In light of this, the Committee
recommends that budget cuts for human rights bodies should
not result in the
stifling of their activities to effectively monitor the protection of human
rights and particularly racial discrimination.
The State party should ensure
that the functions of the bodies that have been closed are fully transferred and
subsumed by the existing
or new institutions.

12. The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations
(CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) and general recommendation No. 8 (1990) on the principle
of
self-identification, and expresses concern at the State party’s persistent
refusal to recognize Travellers as an ethnic
group notwithstanding that they
satisfy the internationally recognized criteria. (arts. 1 and 5)

The Committee reiterates the recommendation made in its previous
concluding observations and general recommendation No. 8 that the
State party
should pay particular attention to self identification as a critical factor in
the identification and conceptualization
of a people as an ethnic minority
group. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party continue to
engage with the
Traveller community and work concretely towards recognizing
Travellers as an ethnic group.

13. While noting the efforts made so far by the State party to understand the
issues affecting Travellers through the Survey of Traveller
Education Provision
in Irish Schools (STEP) and the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study, the
Committee regrets that efforts made to
improve the welfare of Travellers have
not substantially improved their situation. The Committee notes with regret the
poor outcomes
in the fields of health, education, housing, employment for
Travellers as compared to the general population. (art. 5(e))

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to
implement the policy advice offered by the National Traveller
Monitoring and
Advisory Committee. The State party should ensure that concrete measures are
undertaken to improve the livelihoods
of the Traveller community by focusing on
improving students’ enrolment and retention in schools, employment and
access to
health care, housing and transient sites.

14. The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations
(CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) and general recommendation No. 32 (2009) on the scope
and
meaning of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and regrets
that the State party has not
adopted a programme on affirmative action to improve the representation of the
Traveller community in
political institutions or taken adequate measures to
encourage the Traveller community to participate in the conduct of public
affairs.
(art. 5(c))

The Committee reiterates its previous concluding observations
(CERD/C/IRL/CO/2)and draws the attention of the State party to general
recommendation No. 32 , and recommends that the State party adopt affirmative
action programmes that seek to improve the representation of Travellers in
political institutions, particularly at the level of Dáil Eireann
(Lower House of Parliament) and/or Seanad Eireann(Upper House of Parliament). The State party should further adopt measures
aimed at encouraging the Traveller community to participate
in the conduct of
public affairs.

15. The Committee regrets that due to the current political situation in the
State party, efforts to enact and review legislation
such as the Immigration and
Residence Protection Bill 2010, Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation)
Bill 2011 and the Prohibition
of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 have stalled.
(arts. 2, 4, 5 and 6)

The Committee recommends that the State party’s pursue efforts aimed
at strengthening the protection of all people from racial
discrimination by
improving the existing draft pieces of legislation and passing them into law.
The Committee further recommends
that the State party improve the Immigration
and Residence Protection Bill 2010 to provide for (a) the right of migrants to
judicial
review against administrative actions and prescribe reasonable periods
within which to do so; and (b) the right of migrant women
in abusive
relationships to legal protection by providing them with separate residence
permits.

16. The Committee regrets that since the consideration of its previous
report, the State party has made no efforts to incorporate
the Convention into
the domestic legal order, particularly in light of the fact that the State party
has incorporated other international
human rights instruments into domestic law.
(art. 2)

The Committee reiterates its previous concluding observations
(CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) that the State party should incorporate the Convention
into
its legal system to ensure its application before Irish Courts in order to
afford all individuals its full protection.

17. The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations
(CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) and notes that the State party made a
reservation/interpretative
declaration on article 4 of the Convention. The
Committee notes that the State party has not provided compelling reasons for
maintaining
the reservation/interpretative declaration. (art. 2)

Recalling its previous concluding observations (CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) and
general recommendation No. 15 (1993), the Committee reiterates
its
recommendation to the State party that it should reconsider its position, and
encourages it to withdraw the reservation/interpretative
declaration made to
article 4 of the Convention.

18. The Committee is concerned at the lack of legislation proscribing racial
profiling by the Garda Siochána (Police) and other law enforcement
personnel. The Committee also notes with regret reports that many non-Irish
people are subjected
to police stops, and are required to produce identity
cards, which practice has the potential to perpetuate racist incidents and
the
profiling of individuals on the basis of their race and colour (arts. 2, 3 and
6)

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt legislation that
prohibits any form of racial profiling, a practice which has
the danger of
promoting racial prejudice and stereotypes against certain racial groups in the
State party. Furthermore, the State
party should strengthen its efforts to
promote the humane treatment of migrants and people of non-Irish origin by the
Garda Síochána (Police) and other law enforcement personnel
in accordance with international human rights law. The Committee further
recommends
that the State party establish appropriate mechanisms to encourage
the reporting of racist incidents and crimes.

19. While noting the efforts taken by the State party to combat racial
discrimination and related intolerance, including commissioned
research
undertaken by the Centre for Criminal Justice at the University of Limerick, the
Committee remains concerned that the legislative
framework in the State party
does not cover all the elements of article 4 of the Convention, and that racist
motivation is not consistently
taken into account by judges in sentencing for
crime. (arts. 2 and 4)

Recalling general recommendation No. 31 (2005), the Committee recommends
that (a) in line with article 4(b) of the Convention, legislation
be passed to
declare illegal and prohibit racist organizations; (b) that racist motivation be
consistently taken into account as
an aggravating factor in sentencing practice
for criminal offences; and (c) that programmes of professional training and
development
sensitize the judiciary to the racial dimensions of crime.

20. The Committee is concerned at the negative impact that the policy of
‘direct provision’ has had on the welfare of
asylum-seekers who, due
to the inordinate delay in the processing of their applications, and the final
outcomes of their appeals
and reviews, as well as poor living conditions, can
suffer health and psychological problems that in certain cases lead to serious
mental illness. The Committee is further concerned at the failure by the State
party to provide for an independent appeals tribunal
considering that the remit
of the Office of the Ombudsman does not extend to asylum and immigration
matters. (arts. 2, 5 and 6)

The Committee encourages the State party to take all necessary steps with
a view to expediting the processing of asylum applications
so that
asylum-seekers do not spend unreasonable periods of time in asylum centres which
might have negative consequences on their
health and general welfare. The State
party should take all necessary measures to improve the living conditions of
asylum-seekers
by providing them with adequate food, medical care and other
social amenities including also a review of the direct provision system.

21. The Committee is concerned at reports of racial discrimination towards
people of African origin. The Committee regrets the lack
of disaggregated
statistical data on these reports in the State party’s report (arts. 2 and
5)

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that any person
involved in such acts is investigated and prosecuted, and if
found guilty on
such incidents, punished with appropriate penalties. The Committee further
recommends that the State party compile
disaggregated statistical data on these
incidents of racial discrimination against persons of African origin.

22. While noting the various efforts that have been made by the State party
through the Health Service Executive (HSE) to protect
the rights of separated
and unaccompanied children seeking asylum, the Committee regrets that
legislation in this area does not provide
adequate protection as required by the
standards set by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).
In this context, the Committee notes with concern the lapsing of the
Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010, which presented
the opportunity
to amend the Child Care Act 1991 in order to outline the legal obligations of
the HSE towards these children.(arts.
2 and 5)

The Committee recommends that the State party enact legislation that
adequately protects the rights and welfare of separated and unaccompanied
children seeking asylum in line with the standards set by international law. The
Committee, therefore, invites the State party to
adopt immediate measures to
ensure that a guardian ad litem or advisor be appointed for all
separated and unaccompanied children irrespective of whether they have made a
protection application
or not.

23. The Committee notes with concern the reported prevalence of instances of
‘knife stabbing’, with people from sub-Saharan
Africa representing a
disproportionate number of the victims. The Committee regrets the lack of
disaggregated statistical data on
these reports. (arts. 2 and 4)

The Committee recommends that the State party investigate the reports of
‘knife stabbings’ against people mainly from
sub-Saharan Africa and
ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted and when convicted, punished with
appropriate penalties. The Committee
further encourages the State party to
compile disaggregated statistical data on these incidents, which must be
included in its next
periodic report.

24. While welcoming the efforts of the State party with regard to the
development of a training package for the Garda Síochána
(Police) under the programme ‘Diversity Works’ and the efforts by
the Judicial Studies Institute to provide training
for the judiciary, the
Committee is concerned that human rights training has not been mainstreamed in
the civil service. (arts. 6
and 7)

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to
sensitize relevant civil servants on human rights issues particularly
against
racism and intolerance by ensuring that human rights training is mainstreamed in
the civil service. In this regard, the Committee
invites the State party to
develop a coordinated work plan with the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
that allows the IHRC to
raise awareness and provide human rights training to all
civil servants including the Garda Síochána (Police) and
the judiciary.

25. The Committee regrets that notwithstanding the existence of the Refugee
Act of 1996, there is no legal framework for family reunification,
which is
currently handled on a non-statutory basis. The Committee also regrets the
current narrow meaning ascribed to the word ‘family’
for purposes of
family reunification. The Committee further regrets the lapsing of the
Immigration Residence and Protection Bill
which provided that family
reunification would be provided for in a statutory instrument. (arts. 2, para.
(2) and 5 (d)(iv), 6)

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt legislation that would
elaborate the principles, rights and obligations governing
family reunification.
In this regard, the State party is encouraged to assign the responsibility of
dealing with applications for
family reunification to an independent authority
that would follow due process, and develop a system that would provide an
appellate
procedure to challenge its decisions.

26. The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations
(CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) and notes with concern that the education system
in the State
party is still largely denominational and is mainly dominated by the Catholic
Church. The Committee further notes that
non-denominational or
multi-denominational schools represent only a small percentage of the total, and
regrets that, according to
reports, there are not enough alternative schools,
and students of the Catholic faith are favoured for enrolment into Catholic
schools
over students of other faiths in case of shortage of places. The
Committee further expresses its regret that the provisions of the
Equal Status
Act give the power to schools to refuse to admit students to denominational
schools on grounds of religion, if it is
deemed necessary to protect the ethos
of the school. (arts. 2, 5(d)(vii) and 5(e)(v))

Recognizing the ‘intersectionality’ between racial and
religious discrimination, the Committee reiterates its previous
concluding
observations (CERD/C/IRL/CO/2) and recommends that the State party accelerate
its efforts to establish alternative non-denominational
or multi-denominational
schools and to amend the existing legislation that inhibits students from
enrolling into a school because
of their faith or belief. The Committee further
recommends that the State party encourage diversity and tolerance of other
faiths
and beliefs in the education system by monitoring incidents of
discrimination on the basis of belief.

27. The Committee notes the inclusion of migrant and minority women including
Traveller women in the State party’s National
Women Strategy currently
under review. (arts. 2 and 5)

Bearing in mind the Committee’s general recommendations No. 25
(2000) and No. 32 (2009), the Committee recommends that the State
party take all
necessary measures to ensure that, following the review, migrant and minority
women continue to be the focus of the
target actions and objectives of the
National Women’s Strategy.

28. Bearing in mind the indivisibility of all human rights, the Committee
encourages the State party to consider ratifying those international
human
rights treaties which it has not yet ratified, in particular treaties the
provisions of which have a direct bearing on the
subject of racial
discrimination, such as the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of
the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families.

29. In light of its general recommendation No. 33, the Committee recommends
that the State party continue togive effect to the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action, adopted in September 2001 by the World Conference
against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,
taking into account the Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference, held
in Geneva in April 2009, when implementing the Convention in its domestic legal
order. The Committee requests that the State party
include in its next periodic
report specific information on action plans and other measures taken to
implement the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action at the national
level.

30. The Committee recommends that the State party undertake and publicize
adequately an appropriate programme of activities to commemorate
2011 as the
International Year for People of African Descent, as proclaimed by the General
Assembly in its resolution 64/169 of 18
December 2009.

31. The Committee recommends that the State party continue consulting and
expanding its dialogue with organizations of civil society
working in the area
of human rights protection, in particular in combating racial discrimination, in
connection with the preparation
of the next periodic report.

32. The Committee recommends that the State party’s reports be made
readily available and accessible to the public at the time
of their submission,
and that the observations of the Committee with respect to these reports be
similarly publicized in the official
and other commonly used languages, as
appropriate.

33. Noting that the State party submitted its core document in 1998, the
Committee encourages the State party to submit an updated
version in accordance
with the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights
treaties, in particular those
on the common core document, as adopted by the
fifth inter-Committee meeting of the human rights treaty bodies held in June
2006
(HRI/MC/2006/3).

34. In accordance with article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention and rule 65
of its amended rules of procedure, the Committee requests
the State party to
provide information, within one year of the adoption of the present conclusions,
on its follow-up to the recommendations
contained in paragraphs 11, 12, 15 and
16 above.

35. The Committee also wishes to draw the attention of the State party to the
particular importance of recommendations, 18, 19, 25
and 27 and requests the
State party to provide detailed information in its next periodic report on
concrete measures taken to implement
these recommendations.

36. The Committee recommends that the State party submit its combined firth
to seventh periodic reports in a single document, due
on 28 January 2014, taking
into account the guidelines for the CERD-specific document adopted by the
Committee during its seventy-first
session (CERD/C/2007/1), and that it address
all points raised in the present concluding observations. The Committee also
urges the
State party to observe the page limit of 40 pages for treaty-specific
reports and 60-80 pages for the common core document (see harmonized
guidelines
for reporting contained in document HRI/GEN.2/Rev.6, para. 19).